Should The New York Knicks Draft Trae Young?

The New York Knicks have the No. 9 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Remember the good ol days when the Knicks used to first round draft picks for like, Eddy Curry and Jamal Crawford? Now I have to write about who they should draft 9th and honestly, I don’t think I trust this front office to not find a way to somehow draft Eddy Curry again.

But assuming that Eddy Curry doesn’t answer the phone draft night when the Knicks are on the clock, the Knicks will have a surprising amount of options. Based on most mock drafts, the top prospects appear to all Big Men, the one position that the Knicks have a plethora of. The entire draft is shaping up to leave the Knicks at No. 9 with the option of selecting whichever point guard they want.

The Knicks front office are reporting falling in love with Trae Young and on the surface, it’s easy to see why. Young scored 27.4 points per game and 8.7 assists while shooting 36% from the 3-point line which is impressive considering he led the Big 12 in total 3-pointers made.

My man was ELECTRIC in college. The comparisons to Steph Curry are obvious. It’s easy to disregard people claiming that he’s the ‘Next Steph Curry’ but it’s not that wild. I don’t think anyone means that Trae is about to win back-to-back MVP trophies but they’re both undersized guards that chuck up 3’s. It’s conceivable.

But should the New York Knicks draft Trae Young?

Yea, why not. Here’s the sneaky huge benefit of drafting No. 9, there’s little risk. If the Knicks had let’s say, the 3rd pick in the draft and they were considering Trae Young then I would be picketing outside of Madison Square Garden. That’s too high of a pick to gamble.

But at No. 9, you’re pretty much taking the best player available that lands at 9. You don’t even really have a ‘decision’ to make. At worse, you’re debating between either Young or Colin Sexton, the point guard out of Alabama, who might fit in more with the gritty team that David Fizdale is looking to put on the court next year.

Personally, I think the Knicks should draft Mikal Bridges, the small forward out of Villanova, because he is the most NBA ready. Look at the NBA Finals, how many of those teams desperately needed a forward who can switch on the pick and roll to defend every position and then hit an open 3 pointer on the other end? Literally every team.

Mikal Bridges is already as good as Lance Thomas which means his ceiling is much greater in the future. Plus, I haven’t completely given up on Emmanuel Mudiay, who has one year left on his deal. a 6’5 point guard is just a problem for guys like Steph Curry and hey, Trae Young. He needs to be in shape and he needs a coach to point him in the correct positions defensively because Jeff Hornacek seemed like the type of guy who said zero words to his players during the game.

Also, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Orlando Magic drafted Trae Young with the 6th pick so chances are, he won’t even be available for New York at No. 9.

Regardless of how the draft shakes up, we are facing a rare year in which the Knicks pretty much can’t mess this up. As hard as they may try, as long as they sit patiently at 9, without trading up for no reason, they will get a quality piece for the future and with Porzingis missing most of the 2018-19 season, they will be back in the lottery, hopefully for the final time, with a shitload of cap room, Frank Ntilikina emerging as a defensive mastermind, and perhaps Trae Young looking like a legitimate star in New York.

What a time to be alive. (Please draft, Mikal Bridges.)

Thanks for reading. Tweet to @TheLesterLee if you think Trae Young would be perfect in Madison Square Garden. Also, go ahead and throw Deadseriousness a Like on Facebook so that I can keep the lights on around here at HQ.

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